Acta Non Verba

On Tuesdays, instead of going to my normal office, I make my way over to our manufacturing plant.  A couple of years ago, the management team decided to consolidate all corporate marketing and sales in one location, so my office was moved from the manufacturing plant to our headquarters.  I dutifully relocated, but I still like to take at least one day every week to work from the plant.

There is no obligation for me to do this, but I honestly like the guys at the manufacturing plant and it is good to have at least one day of the week close to the products and the engineering teams.  It always surprises me how productive these days and how often a dozen emails can be quickly resolved through a conversation over the coffee pot.

Spending one day a week at the plant is a great plan except I perpetually forget to bring my laptop home on Monday nights.  Ever since we shifted to a Google-based workspace, I use my personal computer when working at home, freeing me from reliance on my corporate laptop (unaffectionately nicknamed “The Albatross”).  When I forget to bring my laptop home, I have to stop at my headquarters office and pick up my Albatross before heading over to the plant.

A nesting Albatross

No big deal, right?  

Honestly, it is not that big of a deal since the plant is less than four miles from our corporate headquarters.  What is a bigger deal is that we have a certain unwritten rule in my group:  we never take the elevator.  And our offices are on the fifth floor.

So, to get my laptop, I have to drive to HQ, park my car, walk up five flights of stairs, get the laptop, then walk down five flights of stairs back to my car – all because I forgot my laptop.  And I am an American, so this seems like a lot of extra work.

Oh, sure, I could just take the elevator but that is not the point.  I should also mention that we have a security officer at the front desk who is a really squared away guy.  He knows our rule and he WILL notice that I am slacking off by using the elevator. There is definite accountability for my actions here.

This is a test of discipline: will I do the right thing even though it is harder and will take longer, or will I do the easy thing because I am not even supposed to be here today.

Discipline is a keystone habit of success, and like all keystone habits, it takes constant reinforcement.  Why is it that we can develop a habit to go through the McDonalds drive-through every morning or to pour a Scotch every night and never miss a day, but when we set a keystone habit like journaling or taking time to exercise as soon as we skip one time we almost immediately lose the habit?  It takes someone addicted to nicotine months or years to shake the habit, but the day after you substitute your routine, healthy salad with a hamburger at lunch,  you never want to eat another salad again.

I do not know the answer to these questions: maybe you do.  And I know that any habit takes reinforcement but it seems much easier to set destructive habits than constructive ones.  I may not know why that is, but I do know if I fail to take the stairs today it will be even easier to ride that elevator tomorrow.  

The same is true with writing.  If I get too busy to write something or I rationalize that I should be doing something else “more important” then I never get back to it.  This is true about all the constructive habits I have tried to develop over the years: exercise, practicing guitar, teaching practical skills to my children, getting my house and garden in order, etc., etc.  It takes so much effort to get a good habit started and so much effort to keep it going, that I usually fail to follow through and instead revert back to the easier habits: watching TV, eating ice cream, and surfing the internet for the next guitar that will “inspire” me to start practicing.

What are the keystone habits that you need to work on today?  What are the habits that you slip easily back into, distracting yourself from putting energy towards those constructive habits?  

Last Tuesday, I greeted my friend at his desk with a smile and headed for the north stairwell.  On that day, I reinforced a positive habit. It took a few more minutes, and I was breathing heavy when I got to the top, but real discipline is earned: one step at a time.